Spectrum analyzers have long been used to perform frequency analysis on RF signals. Various types of spectrum analyzers exist; one of the newer varieties is a real-time spectrum analyzer (RTSA). RTSA devices leverage modern increases in computing power to perform near-instant frequency-domain transformations on RF signals. A relatively wide range of frequencies can be monitored and updated simultaneously, in contrast to swept spectrum analyzers, which monitor frequency domain information only over a relatively narrow bandwidth at any given instant in time.
By allowing a real-time view of spectral events, RTSA devices are very useful in modern RF environments, which have increased in complexity to include transient characteristics that cannot be analyzed with traditional swept spectrum devices. Current RTSA devices do, however, have bandwidth limitations. Accordingly, as the spectrum of interest increases in bandwidth, the ability of an RTSA to provide a real-time spectral representation diminishes.